The Bird and the Wyrm-Chapter 63

That night, much to the pair’s shared disappointment, no seduction activities occurred. Instead, after flying back, reporting in to Aunt Yeung about everything that had happened out in the forest, the pair had fallen into bed together and asleep.

They hadn’t even managed a single kiss, they were that exhausted.

But just because nothing had happened the night before didn’t mean nothing could happen the next morning.

Misha lay completely still and watched as the light from the rising sun gradually creeped in through the window and caressed Bran’s profile. Misha sighed. He wanted to caress him too but he controlled himself.

He himself was still feeling tired from the day before and he guessed Bran was even more so. He’d seen Aunt Yeung the night before and her ashen complexion told him enough to know that setting up the defenses of the manor was no simple feat.

But still. Maybe if he just moved a little closer...

Bran’s eyelashes fluttered then parted. He blinked a few times then looked around blearily.

"...Misha?"

It made the dragon’s heart beat with joy to know that Bran’s first thought that morning was of him.

"Morning," said Misha. He leaned forward and kissed Bran lightly on the lips.

"Mm..." Bran reached up and pulled Misha down on top of him then rolled so that he was the one on top. "Morning."

Heart hammering in his chest, Misha found himself rather tongue tired. He’d been thinking for ages, every since he woke up, what he’d say to Bran yet all that planning had gone out the window. He raised a hand and discovered that he was shaking.

Bran noticed too and concern cut a line between his eyebrows. He went to get off of Misha but the latter quickly put his arms around him, holding him in place.

"Don’t go."

"I won’t."

So, they continued to lie there, clothed bodies against each other, chests pressed close enough for each to feel the other’s quivering heart. After a few moments, something else hard made its presence known to both. Two somethings.

Misha moved first, sliding a hand up and under Bran’s shirt. His fingers graced his skin and slid into the small of his back. As he did this, he felt Bran tense and take a sudden breath in. Misha kept his hand there for a moment then pushed his other hand under Bran’s shirt.

"Bran," he said quietly as he sneaked this second hand down and into Bran’s shorts. "Would you like spoilers on how I plan to seduce you?"

Bran buried his face into the crook of Misha’s neck and made some indistinct sound.

Misha slid his hand down further. "I can’t hear you."

Bran flinched and his fingers dug into Misha’s clothes scratching the skin.

Misha blinked then stopped. Had he gone too far? He began to pull out his grubby mitts but Bran’s grip on him tightened and stopped him from moving.

"B-Bran...?"

"Don’t..."

Misha’s heart sank and he tried to regain his composure. He’d talked big about seducing Bran, but in reality, it was just empty flirting. He didn’t know how to seduce anyone and there was no way he wanted to hurt Bran or do something he didn’t like. Gosh, the fear of doing something Bran didn’t like was-

"Don’t stop..."

Huh?

Misha turned and tried to see Bran’s face, but the guy buried his face even deeper. "Don’t stop," he murmured into Misha’s clothes and Misha’s hands immediately resumed their exploration...

--

"Bran. I think my mother’s alive."

It was later in the morning and we were lying in bed together. You were on your back while I lay on my front with my arm slung over you as you ran your fingers down the green-blue fur sprouting from my spine. I wasn’t in my dragon form, not anymore and completely anyway, but I was too tired to properly get everything transformed away.

Your hand stopped in the middle of my back.

"Did Artemis say something?" you asked.

"Not to me," I said as I turned to face you though I kept my eyes closed. I felt good, really good, but also tired. "But he asked those other two, Zhan and Morgan, they’re called, if ’Ling’ had sent them. Ling was my mother’s name."

That sentence hung in the air. I wondered if you’d ask me how I was sure Artemis meant my mother when he said ’Ling’ and not someone else with the same name, or whether I’d misheard it or something like that, but you didn’t.

"What’s your mother like?" you asked instead. I noticed the shift into present tense. What did I ever do to deserve you?

"I honestly couldn’t say," I said. "I was too young when they separated and I didn’t get to see her afterwards. I just have this impression of her smiling at someone."

"But you have a good feeling towards her?"

A good feeling... that’s an interesting way to put it. "Yeah, I guess I do."

Your hand trailed up my back and rested at the base of my neck. "We’ll find out what’s happened to her," you said. "I’ll ask Aunt Yeung and Tuesday to see if they have any information on her."

"Would they though? It’s not like she was..." My voice trailed off.

You didn’t say anything, but I understood the implication. Up until coming to Hong Kong, I’d known nothing about the supernatural but that didn’t meant the same was true for the rest of my family. Clearly my father had been involved with it for a while, maybe his whole life, so who knew if my mother was also involved. Maybe she was a dragon?

"There are lots of possibilities," you said. "But no matter what, I’ll walk with you."

Had I really sounded that gloomy? Perhaps I had.

I hugged you tight.

"What’s your mother like?" I asked. Despite being a chatterbox for questions I’d never asked this one.

"She... was tough but nice. A little like Aunt Yeung actually," you replied.

"Is she... still around?" I ventured.

"Yes and no." You chuckled at my confused expression. "I’ll take you to see her sometime." You paused. "She... didn’t agree with what my father wanted to do to me, to my soul, but her defiance caused her to end up how she is now."

"What about your extended family?"

"They... I’ve never met my mother’s side, not sure if she has any actually, as for the other side..."

"You’re... not close to them huh?"

"Not really. A few years ago I had a big argument with my aunt and left and went back. I thought... I’d find home there, with them."

I brought my hand up to lightly hold the side of your face and neck but said nothing.

"Instead," you went on, "they told me that I was no real blood relation of theirs. Apparently, my mother had been pregnant with me before she met my father."

"That’s..." I was appalled.

"It is what it is," you said. "They could be making it up for all I know, but if people don’t want you to be there, it’s best not to force it if you can help it I think."

I realise I was too young and inexperienced in the world to really understand that last bit but it still made me sad.

For a while the room was full of the quiet sounds of the morning, a bird tweet there, the whistle of a far away kettle there. Finally I decided to say something.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked. I hadn’t meant to bring up such sad memories...

"I’m wondering about... who you had a crush on."

"Huh? What crush?" I asked.

"You said before that you’d crushed on a best friend before," you said. "Was that in university?"

"Ohh." I shifted and slipped my other arm under you to better pull you closer to kiss your neck. "That was in year 10, secondary school, a while ago now. Why? Feeling jealous?"

You pulled back a little and pinched my chin. "Should I be?"

I laughed and licked your fingers. "No. My best friend, the guy I liked, turned into my number one bully. I ended up having to change schools."

I immediately saw the pain in your eyes, but I didn’t want you to dwell on it. I didn’t, not anymore.

"Alright. How about you? Who do I have to be jealous of?" I asked.

You rose on one arm and kissed me on the nose. "No one," you said. "I was kind of... late in that area. When I was sixteen I still had no idea about any of this attraction stuff, then later when I woke up at nineteen, I was too busy trying to survive to worry about anything else."

"Ha. So I have you all to myself."

Your eyes dropped from mine and your hand slid down to my throat and stopped over the marks on my skin that your teeth had made earlier.

"Does it hurt?" you asked.

"No. It’s a little bit itchy though."

"Really?" You gently ran over the red marks with your fingers and I had to swat your hand away.

"It’s ticklish!"

"Really?" Your hands sneaked around my body and I had to quickly pin you down to stop your tickling assault.

"You little..."

But before I could say what, the sight of your bare chest and stomach and the red marks dotted down them made me lose my train of thought. Some were from human hands and teeth though most were not.

It’s still pretty early in the morning... I thought to myself.

"We still need to shower," you said as I let my instincts take over.

"In a minute..." I murmured, tail swishing behind me.

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